NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today BET announces the first group of performers for the 20th annual “BET AWARDS” including Alicia Keys, Chloe X Halle, DaBaby, D Smoke, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Jonathan McReynolds, Kane Brown, Lil Wayne, Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, SiR, Summer Walker, Usher, Wayne Brady and more. BET Amplified Artists, Masego and Lonr. are set to take the BET Amplified Music Stage, a platform for emerging artists.
Hosted by comedian and actress Amanda Seales, The “BET AWARDS” 2020 will simulcast LIVE at 8 pm ET across ViacomCBS networks including BET, BET HER, and will make its national broadcast premiere on CBS on Sunday, June 28 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT, 7:00-10:00 PM, CT).
Amanda Seales is a comedian and creative visionary. You know her as, “Tiffany DuBois” of HBO’s Insecure and her debut stand up special, “I Be Knowin”. She is a former co-host on the daytime talk show, “The Real”, host of NBC’s “Bring the Funny,” creator/host of the hit live, and now virtual, music/comedy game show, “Smart Funny & Black”, speaks truth to change via her wildly popular Instagram, weekly podcast, “Small Doses”, and book by the same my name, recently launched her membership community app, “SFB Society”! A Jedi Khaleesi with a patronus that’s a Black Panther with wings, she keeps audiences laughing, thinking, and living in their truth!
In the final countdown to the BET Awards, Terrence J and Erica Ash will host the first interactive pre-show featuring celebrities, nominees, and special guests who will be participating in Black Entertainment’s biggest night.
“BET was created to stand at the forefront of black culture. We have made strides over the past two decades to create a space where black creativity, culture, and art have the opportunity to get the celebration it deserves in a world where it is systematically muted,” said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET. “This year we’re looking forward to continuing the tradition of providing fans with those special, not to be missed moments of enrichment, entertainment, empowerment and also using our platform to create change for our community.”
Internationally, the show will simulcast on BET Africa at 2 am CAT on June 29th, followed by international broadcasts in the UK on June 29th at 9 pm BST, France on June 30th at 8:45 pm CEST and in South Korea on June 30th at 9 pm KST. BET will honor the ‘Best International Act’, along with the fan-voted category ‘Best New International Act’.
Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET will oversee The “BET Awards” 2020 and serve as Executive Producer along with Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment.
BET.com/betawards is the official site for the “BET Awards” and will have all the latest news and updates about this year's show.
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ABOUT BET NETWORKS
BET, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news, and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel is in 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa, and France. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions including BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.
ABOUT “BET AWARDS”
The “BET Awards” is one of the most watched award shows on cable television according to the Nielsen Company. The “BET Awards” franchise remains as the #1 program in cable TV history among African-Americans, and it is BET's #1 telecast every year. It recognizes the triumphs and successes of artists, entertainers, and athletes in a variety of categories.
ABOUT JESSE COLLINS ENTERTAINMENT
Jesse Collins Entertainment (JCE) is a full service television and film production company founded by entertainment industry veteran, NAACP Image® Award winner and Emmy® Award nominee Jesse Collins. For more than a decade, the company has played an integral role in producing some of television’s most memorable moments in music entertainment. JCE produced the critically acclaimed biopic The New Edition Story, the story on the boy band that aired as a 3-part mini-series and posted record ratings for BET and attracted nearly 30 million viewers. It was followed by The Bobby Brown Story, which chronicled the talented but troubled singer’s exit from the popular ’80s boy band through his solo success, and was the highest rated non-tentpole program on the network since The New Edition Story. The next mini-series for JCE is Uptown, a 3-part original scripted miniseries for BET that will chronicle the story of producer Andre Harrell’s iconic record label, Uptown Records. The company’s current scripted TV series is American Soul, the story about the struggle to make the dream of Soul Train, the first nationally-syndicated Black music show, come true. It ended its first season as the #1 new cable scripted drama for African Americans 18-49 and its second season debuts in May 2020. Previously, JCE produced BET’s hit TV series Real Husbands of Hollywood starring Kevin Hart that ran for 5 seasons. On the unscripted side, JCE produces annual live specials — the BET Awards, Soul Train Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards. Past credits include Black Girls Rock!, UNCF’s An Evening of Stars, ABFF Honors, BET Honors, Love & Happiness: An Obama Farewell, VH1’s Dear Mama, HBO’s Amanda Seales I Be Knowin;’ Netflix’s Def Comedy Jam 25 and Leslie Jones: Time Machine. JCE’s game shows include VH1’s Hip Hop Squares with Ice Cube and CMT’s Nashville Squares. Its music competition series on BET, Sunday Best is now in its 10th season and Netflix’s Rhythm & Flow featuring judges Tip “T.I.” Harris, Cardi B and Chance the Rapper will soon begin production on its second season that will air in 2021. Collins is also a producer for The Grammy Awards. He was on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop 100 Power Players list, has been featured on the cover of Vibe magazine and in numerous publications including Ebony magazine’s Power 100 issue. Go to http://www.jessecollinsent.com/ for more information on the company.
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